Harry Styles x Reader One-Shots

The Guessing Game They Love To Play

Pairing: Harry Styles x Tattoo Artist!Reader

Word Count: 25.3k

Summary: Y/N doesn't tattoo people that can even be considered famous, but when Harry Styles calls the shop and asks her which artist specializes in watercolor tattoos, she finds her first celebrity customer.

Warning(s): Cursing, talk of toxic exes, mentions of abuse, tattooing (doesn't go into major detail but the needle is mentioned), bad friends, implied alcohol consumption, angst, fluff

A/N: This all started as a 1k word outline and here we are, with a completed piece that's a lot longer that a thousand words!! The tattoo parlor that I used as Y/N's place of work is in fact a real place, but all of the names/descriptions of the people included in this fic that are stated to work there are works of fiction!!! I literally only used their name in the fic!! Also, for clarification, when you get to the texting, Y/N's texts are in bold!!

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There's something about loving an idea so much that you get it inked onto your body forever. It's a desire that can only be described as magical. Connecting with something on a deeper level is beautiful. Y/N's had this thinking for as long as she can remember, which is the exact reason why she purchased her first tattoo gun at sixteen, and practiced creating her art every day for years.

At the tenacious age of eighteen, she sent her portfolio to "The Honorable Society Tattoo Parlor and Lounge" and began her apprenticeship under the woman that would come to be one of her greatest inspirations in life: Veronica Sawyer.

Now almost a decade later, she's tattooing the rich, upper class citizens of Los Angeles for a living. If someone had told her when she began her apprenticeship that she would be receiving a call from Harry Styles as a request to give him a new piece, she would have laughed in their face.

Yet she's standing here, on a Monday morning in the middle of June, getting a call from a man who she would later find to be the same one that she had on her walls years prior.

"Hello, thanks for calling The Honorable Tattoo Parlor and Lounge! Is there something that I can do for you today?" She rattles off the greeting that she's been repeating for years.

"Hi, my name's Harry." Her brows crinkle slightly at the voice. It's not often that the shop gets calls from people with accents, and those with British accents are even less common. "I was just wondering if there was an artist that has experience with watercolor tattoos and if there is, if I could come in and make an appointment and put down the deposits."

"Yeah, of course! I'm actually the artist here that has the most experience with those kinds of tattoos, but there are others here if you want to come in and see some portfolios." In comparison to all the other artists, Y/N has worked in tattooing for the least amount of time. All of the other artists have been perfecting their craft for a much longer period of time than she has, so she always makes sure to inform the potential clients that there are multiple options for them to choose from, even though she is the one that specializes in watercolor more than any other form of tattooing.

"Alright, is there a certain time that I can come in?" There's something about the deep timbre of the voice that sounds extremely familiar to her. She shakes off the thought, however. Maybe she's just comparing the accent to one that she's seen in a movie.

"If you're in the area, you could come by soon. The shop's been really slow today so there shouldn't be too much foot traffic if you can head over now." They haven't had many customers yet, and there are no appointments that have been scheduled for today, so she believes that now is as good a time as ever to have Harry come by the shop.